Validation requires one thing: evidence that a specific person will pay a specific amount for a specific outcome. Not interest. Not encouragement. Not "I would definitely use that." Evidence of payment intent -- a deposit, a signed agreement, or at minimum a clear verbal commitment to buy at a stated price.
Most idea validation stops at the wrong stage. Asking friends and family if an idea is good produces social encouragement, not market feedback. Creating a survey produces opinions about interest, not evidence of demand. Building a landing page and measuring signups produces a list of curious people, not customers. Validation is complete only when someone has committed to pay -- or has clearly indicated they would not.
Validation covers four dimensions: problem clarity (does the problem actually exist and hurt enough to pay to solve), market reality (are there enough people with this problem to build a business), offer structure (is the offer specific enough to be bought), and direct validation (have real potential buyers confirmed willingness to pay at your stated price). All four must pass before meaningful investment in building.
Describe the problem in one sentence without using your solution in the description. If you cannot describe the problem without referencing your product, you do not understand the problem well enough yet.
Name five real, reachable people or companies who have this problem right now. Not categories of people. Specific people. If you cannot name five, you do not know your customer well enough yet.
Contact all five and ask about the problem, not about your idea. Listen for how they currently solve it, what they have tried, what it is costing them. Do not pitch yet.
After understanding the problem from their perspective, present your offer with a specific price and ask for a decision. "I have a solution that does X. It costs Y. Does that solve your problem at that price?" Record the exact response.
Validation is complete when at least two of the five conversations produce a payment commitment -- a deposit, a signed agreement, or a clear "yes I will buy this at that price when it is ready." Anything softer is not validation.
A validated offer has at least two committed buyers before any significant time or money is spent building. A failed validation is valuable too -- it eliminates a bad investment before it costs you months.
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